


Sick

by diamondboy (werewolfboy)



Series: You Only Live Forever [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Universe, Nonbinary Character, Not Canon Compliant, Other, Self Insert, nb character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 08:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10783320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werewolfboy/pseuds/diamondboy
Summary: Kumakichi discovers that immortality does not mean immunity to sicknesses the hard way. Kakuzu is exasperated but no more than usual.





	Sick

**Author's Note:**

> More indulgence on my part, really. My brother infected me with whatever godawful cold hybrid he's got, and I hate springtime colds with a vengeance because it's warm outside and there's flowers blooming and here I am sick as a dog.
> 
> EDIT: For the love of all that is good, DO NOT TAG WORKS FEATURING KUMAKICHI AS YAOI. Kumakichi is NONBINARY, they aren't male or female and yaoi implies a male gender. Besides that, I myself have a lot of issues with the term as it usually implies fetishistic tendencies on the part of cisgender (and often also heterosexual) women, and I am really tired of being fetishized for my gender identity and sexuality. 
> 
> I don't want to start discourse over this in the comments, I just want people to respect me, my work, my preferences, and my characters. I'm going to start putting this exact comment on any other fics featuring a nonbinary character or any kind of queer relationship, if you have already bookmarked it under a tag such as this, I ask you to edit the bookmark and get rid of that tag. Please respect the wishes of the one who creates this content for free for your consumption.

        “Ahh.. Ahh.. Ahh- _ CHOO _ !” The wild mane of dark hair quivers, and Kumakichi sniffles miserably before reaching for the tissue box next to the futon. They blow their nose and try not to make too much more noise.

 

        They sniffle and bite back a whine, not being able to smell anything- not a  _ damn _ thing- and barely being able to breathe through their nose properly. Proper S-rank criminal mercenary they were, getting up in arms about a bad cold. And all this happening while everyone else was on-base too. The orders were to lay low for a few months and amass funds before they made their next move. Naturally of course that meant that they were all of them mostly in the base or on short term missions- stuff like muscle jobs or intimidation or what have you. None of it meant they’d go much farther beyond the rainy village their headquarters was in, it was comfortable.

 

        Rather, it  _ had _ been until Kumakichi had come down sick. Not a week past they had gone out alone to do low level work for good pay, nothing too suspicious (not that anybody asked questions anyway once they knew what organization Kumakichi worked for). They’d begun travelling back to the base within the walls of Amegakure when the rain had stopped and the sun came out. It was rare that this ever happened, and so Kumakichi had shed their cloak and bearskin and let their hair down loose to soak in the light. 

 

        Not ten minutes after, the rain returned and slowly turned into icy sleet that froze Kumakichi’s skin on impact. They’d ended up fastening everything back on properly and quickly but their clothes and subsequently their whole body was soaked to the bone within the two hours it took to get back to the base.

 

        After that, it had taken too damn long to get into the showers and warm up. While the base was built to accommodate a large number of people, it was also notoriously old and so the appliances were updated and repaired on an as needed basis. These repairs cost money, and were therefore done only on the authority and with the funding of- you guessed it- Kakuzu.

 

        Kumakichi swore on every last pleasant thing in their near century of life experience that they wholeheartedly  _ loved _ Kakuzu- even adored him. That said, the old man had the temperament and composure of a dragon when it came to parting with a single red cent even for necessities. As such, there were five working showers in a room of twenty. It wasn’t exactly the best but there were usually only four people or so on base maximum during the times when the mission assignments were plentiful and most members were off-base.

 

        But due to recent orders all members of the Akatsuki were grounded. Meaning that of course there were now upwards of ten people on base and no one had any damn schedule for the showers and all of them tended to shower at the same time because of course they fucking did. And Kumakichi preferred to shower when no one else was showering, as they had long since grown accustomed to privacy and did not enjoy people gawking at their body. 

 

        So, they waited two long hours for the crowd in the showers to disperse in a foul mood, shivering miserably under three towels and the other bearskin they owned (the spare was dry and warm and the other one desperately needed to dry and be looked over but that would have to wait for morning) and cursed the day the gods invented freezing rain and sleet.

 

        It had perhaps taken a few days after that for the symptoms to worsen and evolve into what now plagued their every sense and made them weak and made them hate their body for succumbing to such weakness. Immortality didn’t mean immunity to sickness, sure, but Kumakichi felt slighted anyway. They’d initially gone to Kakuzu’s room in the secretive hours of the morning to seek some kind of comfort but found him gone and had then set up residence there due to the presence of his lingering scent.

 

        Kakuzu would probably be mad at Kumakichi to some degree for the invasion of his room but Kumakichi barely had it in them to care. Besides, they were being extremely neat and respectful and besides the giant bearskin swaddled lump in Kakuzu’s futon, no one could ever have told that anyone was there. 

 

        They peered out over the mass of fur near their eyes to see the two bottles at the foot of the futon. Cold medicine and cough syrup. They were due for another dose, but the medicines were so dreadfully far and that would mean exposing themself to the cool air to get it..

 

        After a full minute of steeling themself for the move, Kumakichi slowly sat up, wincing when their joints cracked, and very slowly leaned forward and  _ reached _ for the cough syrup. Blood rushed through their head dizzyingly and they paused for just a moment, and the door opened. Kumakichi, able to see in the dark, was blinded for just a moment when the light from a lantern was cast over their form and they groaned and recoiled.

 

        “...You have two minutes. Explain.” Kakuzu’s voice was calm, and to Kumakichi’s ear it had the underlying tone of “I was in an okay mood and am now confronted with this and your response determines whether or not I will be angry”.

 

        “I- I will, just, for fuck’s sake put that light out, it’s burning my eyes.” They replied, raising their hands slowly in surrender. They got a grunt in response and  saw Kakuzu put the lantern down as he quickly and efficiently unpacked, He did not blow out the candle within.

 

         “Fuck, alright, okay,  _ okay _ . I just- I came back like a week ago and there was sunshine and I wanted to soak it in and the fucking-” They interrupted themself to cough into their elbow and heard Kakuzu sit down next to them. 

 

         When they looked up, they saw his bright eyes staring right at them, sizing them up. Kumakichi found it in themself to blush the slightest, and then looked away and was grateful for the fact that their skin was already flushed and that it was dark and candlelight was shit anyway.

 

        “The rain started up again and it turned to sleet and freezing rain and I got soaked to the damn bone through my cloak and my bearskin and then the showers were busy for ages because of fucking course and who am I to tell Kisame he’s better of jumping in the lake to get the kind of clean he’s looking for wasting all the damn hot water and now I’m damn sick.” They said in a rush, huffing and then pressing their hand to their forehead when they grew dizzy from talking so fast.

 

         “Fool. You know better than to trust it when the sun comes out here.” Kakuzu said flatly, then he leaned back and shut the door. He got up and moved to his tiny dresser, shucking off his clothes and his mask and letting his hair down. Kumakichi remained upright and looking at him, unsure if they could lie down.

 

          “Why are you in my room? You have your own, you know.” Kakuzu continued, turning around once he’d changed into fresh fatigues. He sat back down next to them.

 

        Kumakichi weighed their options mentally. They could lie and say they had a hunch he’d be coming back and they wanted to greet him, but then Kakuzu would probably ask when and where they’d developed foresight. Or they could tell him the horridly sentimental truth: that Kumakichi had missed him horribly and the sickness was bad and his scent was good. Of course, because they hadn’t asked permission to be in his room, he could always still be upset with them.

 

        “Kumakichi.” He prompted them, and they jumped a little and readjusted their bearskins.

 

         “Sorry. Uh. It just.. It just smelled nice in here..” they said, after stalling a good minute fidgeting with their furs. They glanced at his face and found it unreadable for just a moment before he gave the tiniest sigh and relented, shutting his eyes for a moment and pinching the bridge of his nose.

 

        Kumakichi wondered vaguely if they should leave, and very slowly began to try and get up. The movement cause immense dizziness, and they shut their eyes to try and fight it. Kakuzu’s hand pushed down on their shoulder and they turned their head to look at him.

 

        “Didn’t say you should leave.” He grunted, then moved the hand on Kumakichi’s shoulder to feel their forehead. Kumakichi’s eyes glazed just the tiniest at the gentle contact, and they sat complacently. After a long moment, he moved his hand to feel under their chin, and took it away after another long moment.

 

        “Tiny fever.” He concluded, and shoved the two bottles of medicine into their hands. “Take these. I’ll be back.”

 

        Kumakichi stared after him as he left, dumbfounded, but took their medicine. Kakuzu returned with another bedroll- presumably from Kumakichi’s room- and another one of their bearskins. He set out the bedroll for himself and tossed the skin at Kumakichi, who caught it and covered themself with it. 

 

        “Don’t make too much noise.” He warned, getting himself under the covers and closing his eyes. 

 

        “But I can’t control when I-”

 

        “The price for taking over my room is that. I need sleep. Be quiet.”

  
        Kumakichi scowled a little but lay down and did their best to be quiet. Sleep tugged at their eyelids and they began to drift. Something nudged at their side and Kumakichi drowsily slid a hand out from the furs and blankets to feel around. The something turned out to be Kakuzu’s hand, which met their hand and held it firmly. Kumakichi smiled, happy to know that even if they had annoyed him he still missed them as much as they missed him.


End file.
